Tennessee banned AI in political ads. Why candidates are…

In the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District, both Republican frontrunners Johnny Garrett and Van Hilleary have utilized AI-generated visuals in their campaign advertisements. These actions occurred despite a new state law requiring political campaigns to provide clear disclosure when artificial intelligence is used in political advertising.

What happened

Former U.S. Representative Van Hilleary released an attack ad featuring AI-generated footage of state Representative Johnny Garrett. The manipulated content depicted Garrett shaking hands with drag queens, laughing with Nancy Pelosi, and standing before a whiteboard claiming systemic racism is real. The ad's voiceover characterized Garrett as "woke" and focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, despite Garrett having campaigned against those platforms.

In response, the Garrett campaign released its own AI-generated content depicting Hilleary driving a campaign bus into a swamp, aiming to undermine Hilleary’s messaging regarding his support for Donald Trump. While Garrett’s ad avoided showing Hilleary’s face, it utilized the technology to achieve an effect similar to actor impersonation. Neither candidate included clear disclosures that the imagery in their respective advertisements was AI-generated.

Enforcement of the new Tennessee law remains unclear. A spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance confirmed that the agency is not responsible for enforcing these regulations. Consequently, an investigation would only be triggered if a voter files a complaint with a local district attorney or if one of the candidates initiates a civil lawsuit. As of early August 2024, no such complaints or legal actions have been recorded, and both campaigns have remained silent regarding potential litigation.